This case study describes in detail how to conduct a performance review of forest product industries. This case study uses the paper industry for illustration, but the principles and methods presented are such that you will be able to conduct a performance review in any industry.
With the resurgence in the interest of using natural textile dyes, a solution must be found that will overcome the limitations of traditional natural dyes. This solution must also be safer for both humankind and the environment than are synthetic dyes. This study compares the colorfastness of commercially available synthetic...
Use of Granier-style heat dissipation sensors to measure sap flow is common in plant physiology, ecology and hydrology. There has been concern that any change to the original Granier design invalidates the empirical relationship between sap flux density and the temperature difference between the probes. Here, we compared daily water...
As mass-timber building construction rises around the globe, there exists the need to verify the long-term, in-situ behavior and performance of these structural systems. Structural health monitoring (SHM), generally defined as a damage detection strategy consisting of a network of sensors, a data acquisition system, and algorithms for data analysis,...
The context of this thesis is a research project focused on the investigation of a renewable biopolymer-poly(lactic acid) (PLA) as a potential replacement of petroleum-based polymers in advanced nanocomposites reinforced with Microfibrillated cellulose (MFC). MFC is extracted from wood, which is a renewable, sustainable, carbon neutral and recyclable material. This...
This paper highlights the development of a rapid visual screening (RVS) tool to quickly identify, inventory, and rank residential buildings that are potentially seismically hazardous, focusing on single-family, wood-frame dwellings with plan irregularity. The SAPWood software was used to perform a series of nonlinear time-history analyses for 480 representative models,...
This paper highlights the development of a rapid visual screening (RVS) tool to quickly identify, inventory, and rank residential buildings that are potentially seismically hazardous, focusing on single-family, wood-frame dwellings with plan irregularity. The SAPWood software was used to perform a series of nonlinear time-history analyses for 480 representative models,...
Premise of the study: The Pacific Northwest of North America experiences relatively mild winters and dry summers. For the
tall coniferous trees that grow in this region, we predicted that loss in the hydraulic conductivity of uppermost branches would
be avoided because of difficulty reversing accumulated emboli in xylem that...
The wood-based building products industry has experienced significant turbulence over the past several decades as a function of multiple forces including among others globalization, product and process innovation, and shifting customer and consumer interest and demands. Collectively, these changes have challenged the historical tenets which have defined industry strategy and...
The dynamics of radio frequency (RF) laminated veneer lumber (LVL) pressing are explored for the purpose of optimizing this process. The RF LVL press at the Albany Trus Joist plant is the focus of this investigation. The investigation first focuses on bond strength development characteristics of the Georgia Pacific adhesive...
The essential oil components of cedar heartwoods play an important role in the durability of these trees. Yet, the composition of these oils and identity of many of the compounds remains unknown, or incompletely know for some commercially important cedar heartwoods. The essential oil extracts of Alaska Yellow Cedar (Chamaecyparis...
Spraying of liquid adhesive onto wood surfaces has shown to be a highly effective and efficient method of application across many different wood-based composite industries. However, the dynamics of spraying are extremely variable and distribution can be affected by liquid properties (rheology, molecular weight distribution, and temperature), application parameters (disk...
This research studied the effects of changing from a traditional manufacturing
system to a cell manufacturing system in a value-added wood products company.
Discrete event simulation was used to describe the current system and the proposed
new systems. Parts were separated into part families that shared similar processing
requirements. From...
Transgenic down-regulation of the Pt4CL1 gene family encoding 4-coumarate:coenzyme A ligase (4CL) has been reported as a
means for reducing lignin content in cell walls and increasing overall growth rates, thereby improving feedstock quality for
paper and bioethanol production. Using hybrid poplar (Populus tremula 3 Populus alba), we applied this...
While microbial colonization of wood is presumed to be characterized by a myriad of interactions between numerous organisms, studying these processes is often difficult owing to the opaque nature of the wood and the inability to readily distinguish among the many species colonizing the material. One method for enhancing the...
Natural durability remains one of the most attractive characteristics of wood, and helps wood obtain a premium price. A worldwide shift towards the use of younger trees from intensively managed forests has created greater concerns about wood quality, especially the wood’s resistance to fungi and insects. Wood durability is assessed...
In the last few decades new trends and innovations in wood products have emerged that are changing the way we can use this material in buildings. Additionally, wood is a material that has been touted to have many positive attributes in comparison to nonrenewable construction materials such as steel and...
In the residential sector, wood is the predominant construction material. In the commercial sector and in mid‐rise construction, the use of wood is limited because of a multitude of reasons, including building code restrictions, the perception of wood as a structural material, fire code requirements, and lack of knowledge and...
The goal of this study was to develop an understanding of the nature of surge wave loading on
wood framed residential structures for a variety of building configurations and test conditions.
The objectives of the study were: (1) to measure forces on a 1/6th scale wood framed
residential structure, (2)...
The goal of this project is to contribute to the development of design values for cross-laminated timber (CLT) diaphragms in the seismic load-resisting system for buildings. Monotonic and cyclic tests to determine strength and stiffness characteristics of 2.44 m (8 ft) long shear connections with common self-tapping screws were performed....
The fundamental intent of the study was to develop an innovative wood-strand composite for use in structural applications. Plantation grown, low density, hybrid poplar was used in the study which was found to be appropriate for the underlying Viscoelastic Thermal Compression (VTC) process. Wood modified by this process has high...
Mass timber (MT) offers viable eco-conscious solutions within the building industry, with its high strength ratings, dimensional stability, light weight and renewable nature enhancing its status as a low carbon alternative to conventional building materials like steel and concrete. Moisture intrusion, coupled with the inherent organic nature of wood pose...
The air‐seeding hypothesis predicts that xylem embolism resistance is linked directly to bordered pit functioning. We tested this prediction in trunks, roots, and branches at different vertical and radial locations in young and old trees of Pseudotsuga menziesii. Dimensions of bordered pits were measured from light and scanning electron micrographs,...